Looking for fun ways to help your child master tricky words? Try the Words of the Week challenge.

Choose the words

Ask your child to choose a few words that they want to master this week. Make sure they know how what each word means, how to pronounce it, and how it can be used in sentences. 

Make them visible

Put the Words of the Week on the fridge and encourage your child to read and spell the words whenever they open the fridge. Other good places include your child’s bedroom door, bathroom mirror and even in their lunchbox. Letting your child decide how many places to use will help them stay motivated.

Use them 

Challenge each other to use the Words of the Week in conversation. Sometimes you might use the word properly, other times you can make up silly sentences – laughter makes learning more fun!

I hope you have an elephant of a time at school tomorrow.

I’ve made you elephant sandwiches.

Don’t forget to wear your elephant!

Spot them

Keep a tally of how many times you read or hear the words. If your child likes competition, you could award points each time your child spots one of the words.

Play games 

Play quick Words of the Week games while you are doing other things together, such as a spelling quiz on the way home from school, or a backwards spelling challenge while you're cooking dinner.

Celebrate and repeat

When your child has mastered their first Words of the Week, celebrate their learning, then ask them to choose some words for the next challenge!